Using the internet to find solutions

bigben24

Ok guys and gals, I'm relatively new here so don't jump down my throat.
I just started a helpdesk/technician position (tier 2) that is 90% remedy tickets and 10% phone calls. Given most of my day is working tickets and not directly interfacing with the end users, it affords me the time to do in depth research before replying (usually via email). Do you use and is it encouraged to seek out solutions on this site and do you also use the "best" tool out there

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GOOGLE

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to find solutions you may not have thought of off the top of your head? What are other good research forums (spiceworks, etc.) do you use?
Thanks!!
"There are only 10 kind of people. Those who understand binary and those who don't."

Jon_Cisco

Trying to resolve active tickets on this site might be problematic because a lot of the answers are meant to nudge you in the direction you need to go. Since it's focused on certifications I almost always suggest something that pushes the OP in the right direction.

However everyone that I know uses Google. Keep in mind I do not work in IT yet but my own opinion is that it's all about knowing how to find the answers. Nobody can know everything.

Good Luck!

aderon

I think it all depends on where you work. Some businesses are going to have huge databases including bug reports, fixes to common issues, developing problems, knowledge base articles, training, etc. And they might require that you use them. In my current position we can use google to help find answers, but unless we can find official documentation supporting what that google result might say, then we can't suggest it as a fix due to concerns about liability.

But generally speaking? Google almost exclusively. Technet.microsoft.com is also really useful for a lot of Windows issues.

tpatt100

When I was on the help desk everybody used to pass information to everybody if they ran into something new and figured it out. Eventually we had so many emails that I ended up taking them all and creating an intranet site that split the information by subject, this was for all the government in house applications so it wouldn't be commonly found in Google searches.

Asif Dasl

All you need to find a problem or research on the internet - Google + below!

<insert item to look up> site:microsoft.com

<insert item to look up> site:kb.vmware.com

<insert item to look up> site:cisco.com

<insert item to look up> site:techexams.net

the_Grinch

Google all the way. Reinventing the wheel is the biggest time waster ever. Now that being said you'll slowly pick up troubleshooting skills and will need Google less and less. I can honestly say that after two years I was solving most problems on my own. Even had a few cases where I contacted the support team for a piece of software to let them know about a fix.

gc8dc95

I am in desktop support and we have a decent amount of information archived, but Google is still a frequently used tool. It can save a lot of time and you may get exposure to other related problems that you didn't look at from that angle before.